Have we heard from you yet?

February 16, 2015

Two weeks left to take the online BCPS Stakeholder Survey

TOWSON, MD. – So you let your New Year’s resolutions lapse, the ones about losing 10 pounds and laying off the chocolate. And, OK, the taxes still sit in an undone heap on the kitchen table. And, yes, the cold weather has made it tough to get out to change the car’s oil.

All those things we can overlook. But surely you have found five minutes to complete the new, online 2015 BCPS Stakeholder Survey, right?

If not, you have just two weeks left to take the survey and let Baltimore County Public Schools know how it is doing. More than 25,000 have already taken the survey, but you have until Saturday, February 28, to complete the easy, confidential survey. You can find it on the BCPS Web site (www.bcps.org) or at this URL: https://bcps.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_0oj10KVhrdjagXX.

“What better way to spend five minutes than to help us refine and improve the educational experience for more than 110,000 children?” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. S. Dallas Dance. “The results of every survey will be used to help us understand where our strengths are and where we have challenges, and I look forward to hearing from as many of our stakeholders as possible about their views on everything from school security to the use of classroom technology.”

Those invited to take the survey are BCPS students in Grades 4-12, parents, teachers, staff, business and community members, and any other members of Team BCPS. Participants may complete the survey using their smart phones, tablets, or computers. The survey has also been customized so that there are different (but related) questions for school-based staff, parents, students in Grades 4-12, community members and central office staff.

With more than 40,000 respondents last year – an 800 percent increase from years past – the school system hopes this year to double the 2014 participation rate. Individuals who fit into more than one category – for example, a staff person who is also the parent of a BCPS student – can take the survey more than once in order to answer questions based on each of the categories. In addition, parents who have students in more than one school are encouraged to take the survey specific to each school their children attend. Parents can choose to take the survey at their children’s schools rather than at home or at a public library.

In addition to English, this year’s survey is also available in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Urdu, Arabic, Nepali, Yoruba, Russian, French, Tagalog, Uzbek, Amharic, Korean and Gujarati. When a participant starts the survey, the website checks the language in the browser setting and displays the survey in that language if the translation is available. In addition, those who take the survey identifying themselves as parents/guardians and community members can choose their preferred language at the top right of every survey page.